Rotary suction conveyor



ly 7, 1954 H. KOCHALSKI 3,139,972

ROTARY SUCTION CONVEYOR Filed June 8, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 7, 1964 KOCHALSKI 3,139,972

ROTARY SUCTION CONVEYOR Filed June 8, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,139,972 ROTARY SUCTION CONVEYOR Horst Kochalski, Hamburg-Lohbrugge, Germany, assignor to Hauni-Werke Korber & Co. KG, Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany Filed June 8, 1960, Ser. No. 34,692 Claims priority, application Germany June 13, 1959 8 Claims. (Cl. 198-211) The invention relates to tobacco processing and cigarette manufacturing machines and particularly is directed to improvements in the construction of suction conveyors which are provided on their circumference with an annular groove for receiving a continuous elongated tobacco stream which during the rotation of the wheel is advanced and is transferred to a continuous cigarette rod making device.

In order to retain the tobacco stream in the circumferential groove of said conveyor wheel it has been proposed heretofore to provide the bottom wall of the groove with apertures which are in communication with a source of suction, such as a stationary suction chamber.

It is an object of the invention to provide the groove in the conveyor wheel with a separate perforated bottom wall composed of a plurality of individual curved fluidpermeable rectangular plates or screen segments which when installed in the wheel form an annular bottom wall extending concentrically about the axis of rotation of said wheel.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention will now be described in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- FIG. 1 is a fragmentary axial sectional view of a rotary suction conveyor.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one of the perforated plates or screen segments forming the bottom wall of the tobacco receiving circumferential groove defined by the wheel of the suction conveyor, and

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the conveyor which is shown installed in a cigarette rod making machine, a portion of one of the groove forming rings being broken away.

Referring to the drawings, the rotary suction conveyor comprises a supporting member here shown as a wheel including a circular disk-shaped body 1 and a pair of rings 2, 2'. These rings 2 and 2' project radially beyond the circumference and axially beyond the respective end walls of the body 1 and have somewhat inclined annular faces 2a and 2b, respectively, which face each other and form the side walls of an annular tobacco receiving groove 8.

The bottom wall of the groove 8 comprises a plurality of circumferentially arranged rectangular but curved fluidpermeable plates or screen segments 4, the curved marginal portions 4a and 4b of which engage the two outer circumferential edges of the wheel body and in turn are engaged by the inner cylindrical shoulders 9 and 10 formed on the rings 2 and 2', respectively. These shoulders overlap the disk and bound the groove 8. The rings 2 and 2' are attached to the body 1 by a number of threaded members such as screws 12 parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel. The arrangement is such that the plates 4 are disposed end-to-end and are clamped in position on the wheel body 1 by the rings 2 and 2' when the screws 12 are tightened.

The circular disc-shaped wheel body is provided along its circumference and radially spaced from the perforated plates 4 with internal radial and axial recesses 3 which are open toward that end face of the body on which the ring 2 is mounted. The inner ends of the recesses 3 are in communication with the perforations 6 in the plates 4 while the lateral open ends of the recesses 3 are in communication with a suction chamber 16 connected by a pipe 15 to a source of suction.

Each perforated plate 4 is provided over the entire area forming the bottom of the groove 8 with uniformly distributed apertures or perforations 6 so that the plates will act as screens when used as the bottom of the tobacco receiving groove 8. In actual practice the apertures have a diameter of .50 to .70, preferably about .70 millimeter, and there are arranged approximately 40 to 50 apertures per one square centimeter area. These apertures and other apertures for the passage of attachment screws are formed in well known manner during the sintering of the material which is used for forming these screen segments 4. While in the illustrated embodiment the perforated plates 4 are not provided with holes for the attachment of the plate to the wheel body 1, because the screws 12 extend solely through the rings 2, 2 and then directly into the marginal portions of the wheel body 1, it is nevertheless contemplated to attach, if desired, the plates 4 by means of radially directed countersunk screws, each perhaps passing through the marginal portions 4a and 4b of the plates 4 and then threadedly into the wheel body 1. The thickness of the plates may vary from a few tenths of a millimeter to a few millimeters.

It is believed obvious that the arrangement of these individual perforated plates 4 or screen segments has the advantage that when one or a few of these plates become damaged, an easy replacement of the damaged plates is possible without removing at the same time the undamaged plates and without necessitating separation of the damaged plate from the plates which are arranged end-toend therewith. Furthermore, the manufacture of these individual perforated plates 4 is relatively simple compared with the manufacture of perforated screen elements which are completely circular and made of one piece. The mounting of the individual perforated plates is also relatively simple compared with the mounting of a single cylindrical screen member, because in accordance with the invention the individual plates 4 can easily be inserted by moving the rings 2 and 2' somewhat axially apart. Such an axial displacement of the two rings 2 and 2 would not be necessary if the individual perforated plates were attached by radial countersunk screws which would enter the outer circumferential surface of the wheel body 1. The radially directed screws could also enter into the radial ribs which extend in the wheel body between the individual radial recesses 3.

Another advantage of the invention is that the individual perforated rectangular plates or screen segments 4 can easily be manufactured either entirely or partially of ceramic materials, for instance of sinter metal. When such materials are being used for the production of the plates 4, it is possible to increase the thickness of the plates 4 considerably so as to make the plates relatively rigid, since the apertures 6 will then be produced during the sintering of the material. Such sinter material has the additional advantage that it possesses a great hardness and great resistance against wear.

FIG. 3 illustrates the relatively large size of the conveyor wheel and the great number of perforated plates 4 which are required to cover the circumference thereof. The tobacco stream A is supplied by the upper horizontal stretch of an endless conveyor band 19 to the lower portion of the conveyor wheel which is driven in a clockwise direction. The tobacco is held in the groove 8 by suction in well known manner. Near the uppermost portion of the conveyor wheel the tobacco stream A is trimmed by any well known trimming device, such as rotary knives 18, and at the uppermost portion of the conveyor wheel a doctor blade 14 extends substantially horizontally into the groove 8 and engages the bottom thereof so as to remove the previously trimmed tobacco stream and transfer it over the blade 14 onto a cigarette paper strip 22 coming from a supply spool and conducted over a roller 21 onto a horizontal conveyor belt 23 mounted on rollers 24 of which only one is shown. An endless conveyor or presser band 25 moving anti-clockwise engages with its lower horizontal stretch the top surface of the trimmed tobacco stream when the latter is transferred onto the doctor blade 14 and the initial portion of the cigarette paper strip 22 and assists in conveying the tobacco stream into a conventional cigarette rod forming device 26.

What I claim is:

1. A suction conveyor, particularly for advancing an elongated tobacco stream in tobacco processing machines, comprising a rotary wheel-shaped supporting member having internal recess means and a circumferential groove surrounding said recess means; an annular bottom wall intermediate said recess means and said groove, said bottom wall comprising a plurality of fluid-permeable arcuate segments arranged end to end; and means for securing each of said segments solely to said supporting member so that any selected segment may be separated from the supporting member without necessitating separation of such selected segment from the segments which are arranged end-to-end therewith.

2. A suction conveyor, particularly for advancing an elongated tobacco stream in tobacco processing machines, comprising a rotary Wheel-shaped supporting member including a central disk-shaped element having radially outwardly opening internal recess means and a pair of ring-shaped elements disposed at the opposite sides of said disk-shaped element, said ring-shaped elements extending radially beyond and defining with said disk-shaped element an annular groove which surrounds said recess means; an annular bottom wall disposed intermediate said recess means and said groove, said bottom wall comprising a plurality of fluid-permeable arcuate segments arranged end to end; and means for securing each of said segments solely to at least one of said elements in such a way that any selected segment may be separated from said supporting member without necessitating separation of such selected segment from the segments which are arranged end-to-end therewith.

3. A suction conveyor, particularly for advancing an elongated tobacco stream in tobacco processing machines, comprising a rotary wheel-shaped supporting member including a central disk having radially outwardly opening internal recess means, and a pair of rings disposed at the opposite sides of and secured to said disk, said rings extending radially beyond and defining with said disk an annular groove which surrounds said recess means and each of said rings having a shoulder bounding said groove and overlapping said disk; and an annular bottom Wall disposed intermediate said recess means and said groove,

said bottom wall comprising a plurality of fluid-permeable independent arcuate segments arranged end to end and each having a pair of arcuate marginal portions received between the disk and the shoulders of the respective rings, each of said segments being separable from said supporting member upon separation of at least one of said rings from said disk and without necessitating separation of segments which are arranged end-to-end therewith.

4. A suction conveyor as set forth in claim 3, wherein said rings are secured to said disk by threaded members extending in directions parallel with the axis of said supporting member.

5. A suction conveyor, particularly for advancing an elongated tobacco stream in tobacco processing machines, comprising a rotary wheel-shaped supporting member having internal recess means and a circumferential groove surrounding said recess means; an annular bottom Wall disposed intermediate said recess means and said groove, said bottom wall comprising a plurality of fluid-permeable arcuate segments arranged end to end; and connecting means for individually securing each of said segments solely to said supporting member so that any selected segment may be separated from the supporting member without necessitating separation of such selected segment from the segments which are arranged end-to-end therewith.

6. A suction conveyor, particularly for advancing an elongated tobacco stream in tobacco processing machines, comprising a rotary wheel-shaped supporting member having a plurality of annularly arranged radially outwardly opening recesses, internal partitions separating said recesses from each other, and a circumferential groove surrounding said recesses; an annular bottom wall disposed intermediate said recesses and said groove, said bottom wall comprising a plurality of fluid-permeable arcuate segments of rectangular shape arranged end to end; and means for securing each of said segments solely to said supporting member so that any selected segment may be separated from the supporting member without necessitating separation of such selected segment from the segments which are arranged end-to-end therewith.

7. A suction conveyor as set forth in claim 6, wherein said bottom Wall is of constant thickness, as seen in the radial direction of said supporting member.

8. A suction wheel as set forth in claim 6, wherein said segments have arcuate marginal portions of non-permeable material.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 11,337 Austria Mar. 26, 1903 286,421 Great Britain Mar. 8, 1928 542,226 Germany Jan. 21, 1932 900,182 Germany Dec. 21, 1953 

1. A SUCTION CONVEYOR, PARTICULARLY FOR ADVANCING AN ELONGATED TOBACCO STREAM IN TOBACCO PROCESSING MACHINES, COMPRISING A ROTARY WHEEL-SHAPED SUPPORTING MEMBER HAVING INTERNAL RECESS MEANS AND A CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVE SURROUNDING SAID RECESS MEANS; AN ANNULAR BOTTOM WALL INTERMEDIATE SAID RECESS MEANS AND SAID GROOVE, SAID BOTTOM WALL COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF FLUID-PERMEABLE ARCUATE SEGMENTS ARRANGED END TO END; AND MEANS FOR SECURING EACH OF SAID SEGMENTS SOLELY TO SAID SUPPORTING MEMBER SO THAT ANY SELECTED SEGMENT MAY BE SEPARATED FROM THE SUPPORTING MEMBER WITHOUT NECESSITATING SEPARATION OF 